Importing Excel Glossaries into Multiterm to Use in SDL Trados Studio

December 2015 Update: Read Paul Filkin's detailed explanation about the Glossary Converter, a great Open Exchange app that simplifies glossary management in Studio. For the original text of this post, please keep reading below.


Although you can enter terms manually in Multiterm, a more efficient way of populating a termbase is importing and already existing glossary.

Multiterm offers several import options. In this post we will see how to import glossaries from an Excel file.

MS Excel: Preparing your bilingual glossaries

Start with a two-column Excel file. To make things easier, make sure the first row in your Excel file includes your language names.

Multiterm Convert: Convert Excel file to be imported into Multiterm

After your Excel file is ready, the next step is converting it to a format that Multiterm can import. To do this, you will need to use SDL Multiterm Convert, which you will find in the same Program group as SDL Multiterm Desktop.



After clicking Next, you will see this screen:

Leave the options as they are and click Next. In the next screen, choose Microsoft Excel format.

Clicking next will open up the screen where you will select the Excel file you want to convert. Click the Browse button next to the Input file field. Find your Excel file and select it. This will populate all 4 fields. Note the location of the Output file (by default the same location where your Excel file is stored).

Click Next.

Now, this is the critical step. On the next screen, choose each language name on the left, select Index filed on the right, and under Index field, select the same language.

See a quick video below:

Click Next.



Don't make any other changes in the following screens, just click Next until you're done.

This screen shows that the conversion was successful and tells you how many term entries were converted.

Clicking on Next takes you to the last screen in the Multiterm Convert process. Click Finish. This will close Multiterm Convert.

You can watch a video of the entire conversion process below.

Multiterm Desktop: Importing your converted glossaries

Now that the Excel file has been converted, we're ready to import it into Multiterm.

Go to SDL Multiterm Desktop and open the termbase you want to import your terms into.

With the termbase open, click the Catalog tab on the bottom left of your screen:

The Catalog View will show you the name of the termbase and several options. Click on Import.

Right click on Default import definition, on the right-hand panel:

This will bring up a context menu. Select Process.

In the screen that opens, click Browse and select the Output file created by Multiterm Convert. Check Fast import, and click Next.

Click Next again. This starts the Import process. When the file has been imported, you will see a screen like this.

Click Next and then Finish to exit the Wizard.

If you click the Terms tab in SDL Multiterm Desktop, you will see the imported terms listed as part of your termbase.

You can repeat the Import process to add terms from other converted Excel glossaries to the same termbase.

Now your termbase is ready to be used in Studio.

To learn more, read Using Multiterm Termbases in SDL Trados Studio.

Using Multiterm Termbases in SDL Trados Studio

Taking advantage of term recognition in SDL Trados Studio can greatly enhance the translation process.

Assuming you've already created a termbase, this post will explain how to to use your termbase in Studio. If you don't have a termbase yet, maybe you'd like to read about creating new termbases or importing Excel glossaries first.

In this example, no project has been created in Studio, I've simply opened a single file for translation.

With your document open for translation in SDL Trados Studio, in the Editor view, if no termbases have been selected, you will see a message under the Term Recognition window that says "No open termbase".

Click on the Termbase icon right above that message.

This will take you to the Project Settings window. Click on Add and select your termbase.


Then in the window that opens, click on Browse, go to the location where you stored your termbase, and select it.

Click OK.

You will now see your termbase loaded in the Project Settings window.

Clicking OK will return you to Studio, where you will now see the Term Recognition window populated with any terms found both in the segment to be translated and in the open termbase.


If you have AutoSuggest set to include termbases, you will see the term appear in the AutoSuggest window as you type the first letter. Select the term you want with the arrow keys, hit Enter and the term is inserted in your target text.



Or use Ctrl+Shift+L to show all the terms recognized in the segment, then choose the one you want using the arrow keys and hit Enter to insert it in the target segment.



A few finishing notes to keep in mind:

• You can have more than one termbase open at once in Studio. Simply repeat the procedure to open more termbases.

• You can add terms to your termbase as you work. Select the source and target terms, right click on the segment and choose Add New Term.

• You can set a default termbase to open automatically with all new documents. Just go to Tools-->Options-->Language Pairs-->All Language Pairs-->Termbases and Add your default termbase.

Using a termbase in any CAT tool greatly enhances the translation process. Studio has many powerful features to make the most of your termbases, and this post only explains the basics to get your termbases up and running in Studio, but I hope it will pique your curiosity to try more advanced features.

goAnalyze: SDL Trados Studio Analysis Made Easy

SDL has released today an OpenExchange app to simplify file analysis in SDL Trados Studio.

Analyzing files in Studio is one of my least favorite tasks because of the number of clicks involved and the overall lack of intuitiveness in the process.

But today, I'm happy. With goAnalyze (a free app offered through OpenExchange) I can do file analysis by dragging and dropping my files onto the app icon, or I can right-click on my file names and use the context menu to start the analysis. Now, that's intuitive and user-friendly!



goAnalyze was easy to install and quick to set-up, a matter of selecting my TMs and desired output format (there's HTML, Excel, csv), so I was up and running in a matter of minutes.

So, if you're like me and dislike the current Studio analysis process, head over to SDL OpenExchange and get goAnalyze, you won't regret it.